People

If a desire to see the world helped entice a young Hank Cintron to sign up for military service, it's a good bet that he wasn't disappointed. He joined the Army from an ROTC program at the University of Puerto Rico at age 21 in 1975, and by the time he retired as a lieutenant colonel two decades later, he had worked everywhere from Venezuela and Nicaragua to Germany and Kuwait.

If 10 years ago you had peeked into the cockpit of almost any business aircraft or airliner in the world, you would have seen a large, boxy flight bag holding several thick leather binders with the words "Jeppesen Airway Manual" embossed on the cover.

Frank Robinson readily admits he's not your typical CEO. "When I worked for the big aerospace companies, I was always a bit of a maverick," he explained to me in his relatively small, Spartan office just off the production floor of Robinson Helicopter Co. in Torrance, Calif. "I don't think I could have gotten anywhere if I had stayed with any of them.

The quintessential self-made man, Michael Harrah launched his career with nothing but competitive zeal and a carpenter's toolkit. About 35 years later, he is the sole owner of Caribou Industries, which has built and managed restaurants, high-rise offices, hotels, golf courses, shopping malls, convention centers and other properties throughout the western U.S.

To become a smarter consumer of business aviation services, believes consultant Michael Riegel, you probably don't need more information- you simply need to better understand and analyze the information you already have. "There's plenty of data," Riegel explained. "It's the interpretation of that data that's lacking.

Troy Aikman slipped on a Dallas Cowboys helmet for the last time in an NFL game more than five years ago, retiring after a spectacular career with one of pro football's most successful franchises. Since then, he has been anything but content to view life from the sidelines.